You are here
Species
Ageratina
IUCN
NCBI
EOL Text
Perennial herbs (in ours). Leaves opposite. Capitula in corymbs, homogamous, discoid. Phyllaries 1-many-seriate. Receptacular scales 0. Corolla 4- or 5-lobed, purplish, bluish or white. Achenes 5-angled. Pappus of numerous bristles in 1-3 series.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Mark Hyde, Bart Wursten, Petra Ballings, Flora of Zimbabwe |
Source | http://www.zimbabweflora.co.zw/speciesdata/genus.php?genus_id=1470 |
"Snakeroot [Generic name Ageratum and Latin -ina, diminutive]
Perennials, subshrubs, or shrubs [trees], mostly 20–220 cm. Stems usually erect, rarely scandent, sparsely to densely branched. Leaves cauline; mostly opposite (distal sometimes alternate); petiolate; blades 3(–5)-nerved from bases, usually deltate, lanceolate, ovate, rhombic, or triangular, sometimes orbiculate, margins entire, crenate, dentate, or serrate, faces glabrous or hispidulous, pilose, or puberulent, sometimes gland-dotted (A. occidentalis, A. adenophora). Heads discoid, usually in compact, (terminal and axillary) corymbiform arrays, sometimes borne singly. Involucres campanulate, 3–6 mm diam. Phyllaries persistent, 8–30 in 2(–3) series, 0- or 2-nerved, lanceolate to linear, ± equal (herbaceous). Florets 10–60; corollas white or lavender, throats obconic to campanulate (lengths 1.5–2 times diams.); styles: bases sometimes enlarged, glabrous, branches linear, seldom distally dilated. Receptacles convex (glabrous or hairy), epaleate. Cypselae prismatic or ± fusiform, usually 5-ribbed, scabrellous and/or gland-dotted; pappi usually persistent, sometimes fragile, rarely falling, of 5–40, barbellulate bristles in 1 series. x = 17. Species ca. 250 (14 in the flora): North America, Mexico, Central America, Andean South America."
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Hamilton, Hayley, Nesom, Guy L., Compositae |
Source | http://compositae.lifedesks.org/pages/4323 |
Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) Stats
Specimen Records:29
Specimens with Sequences:20
Specimens with Barcodes:18
Species:8
Species With Barcodes:5
Public Records:8
Public Species:4
Public BINs:0
Ageratina (snakeroot) is a genus of about 250[1][2]–290[3]perennials and rounded shrubs in the family Asteraceae.
These plants grow mainly in the warmer regions of the Americas and West Indies. Over 150 species are native to Mexico.[4] Some flourish in the cooler areas of the eastern United States. Two Mexican species have become a pest in parts of Australia and Taiwan.[3]Ageratina used to belong to the genus Eupatorium, but it has been reclassified.
Description[edit]
The inflorescence consists of multiple fluffy, red or pinkish-white capitula in clusters. These lack the typical ray flowers of the composites.
They have multiple, much-branched woody stems. The petioles are rather long. The leaves are triangular, serrate and opposite with a foul-smelling, musky scent.
Species[edit]
Toxicity[edit]
Milk from cows that have eaten snakeroot can cause illness if ingested because the milk becomes toxic. Symptoms of milk sickness include vomiting.
Medicinal Use[edit]
Ageratina pichinchensis is a traditional Mexican treatment for superficial fungal infections of the skin. These plant extracts contain encecalin which has activity to inhibit and kill the fungus. Studies have compared its effectiveness in treating toenail fungus with ciclopirox.[6][7][8]
Notes[edit]
- ^ "Ageratina". Flora of North America.
- ^ Carmen Ulloa Ulloa and Peter Møller Jørgensen. "Ageratina Spach". Arboles y arbustos de los Andes del Ecuador (Trees and shrubs of the Andes of Ecuador).
- ^ a b "Ageratina Spach". Flora of Taiwan.
- ^ a b c d e Turner, B. L. (2010). Four new species of Ageratina (Asteraceae): Eupatorieae) from Oaxaca, Mexico. Phytologia 92:3 388-99.
- ^ Turner, B. L. (2010). Ageratina villarrealii (Asteraceae: Eupatorieae), A new species from Sierra de Zapaliname, Coahuila, Mexico Phytologia 92:3 362-65.
- ^ Snakeroot leaf extract, proven as toenail fungus natural treatment
- ^ Romero-Cerecero, Ofelia; Román-Ramos, Rubén; Zamilpa, Alejandro; Jiménez-Ferrer, Jesús Enrique; Rojas-Bribiesca, Gabriela; Tortoriello, Jaime (2009). "Clinical trial to compare the effectiveness of two concentrations of the Ageratina pichinchensis extract in the topical treatment of onychomycosis". Journal of Ethnopharmacology 126 (1): 74–78. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2009.08.007. PMID 19683043.
- ^ Romero-Cerecero, Ofelia; Zamilpa, Alejandro; Jiménez-Ferrer, Jesús; Rojas-Bribiesca, Gabriela; Román-Ramos, Rubén; Tortoriello, Jaime (2008). "Double-Blind Clinical Trial for Evaluating the Effectiveness and Tolerability ofAgeratina pichinchensisExtract on Patients with Mild to Moderate Onychomycosis. A Comparative Study with Ciclopirox". Planta Medica 74 (12): 1430–1435. doi:10.1055/s-2008-1081338. PMID 18671197.
Long used in India to treat snakebite, epilepsy, mental disorders. It was also discovered to be useful in regulating hypertension discovered in 1949, but it causes various side effects. Used to treat schizophrenia due to the alkaloid reserpine it contains.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Wikipedia |
Source | http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ageratina&oldid=582193730 |